Category / iPad

Here’s another Sampler for iOS with an innovative and interesting interface called SpheroSampler. Working a track? Try sampling a part of it into this and record your mutations back into your arrangement during a break. That’s one idea for SpheroSampler. It’s free.

“Use your fingers to vary speed and rotation of spheres to create and listen sphero-tracks. There are infinite number of ways to play each your sphero-track, because you have not one, but two dimensions for playing! SpheroSampler can write sounds via microphone, and also has built-in synth. Sphero-tracks can be saved (up to 8 tracks for each sphere). Live mixes can be exported into wav-files (up to 120 sec of recording).” – spherosampler.com

I created a little video above just messing around with Animoog V2’s new 4 Track. I threw in some Richard Devine presets too. Cubasis and this little feature are hopeful signs that we are going to end up with some very nice full fledged touch sequencers sooner than later. I learned we need some drum sounds in Animoog and I sound like a wuss Darth Vader with my nasal breathing.

“Also, as a holiday gift, Animoog V2 features apowerful 4 Track Recorder, which gives Animoog users the ability to record audio from within Animoog or import audio tracks directly from their iTunes library. Users can then split, loop, copy, paste, and share individual clips, or mix down entire songs and upload them directly to SoundCloud, all from within the Animoog’s universe.” – moogmusic.com

I’ve yet to see a full fledged sequencer for iOS that I really want to use. Today the grandfather of sequencers Steinberg bring us Cubasis. Good or not it uses what we musicians know as the traditional sequencer metaphor. I’m really looking forward to try this out but at $49 it’s more than an impulse buy. If it runs smoothly and it’s fun to record and create full songs with this will be very welcome!

“Cubasis is Steinberg’s streamlined, multitouch sequencer for the iPad. Specially designed for quick and easy operation, Cubasis makes recording, editing and mixing a breeze. You can also open your Cubasis projects in Cubase under Windows and OS X! Cubasis places touch-intuitive production tools in your hands, opening up a new world of possibilities for your creativity.” – steinberg.net

Audiobus was released today. It allows multiple iOS music apps to work together. I have found many music apps to be useful but I usually just record one at a time into Ableton. Audiobus opens things up. I’m still not certain I want to be bouncing in and out of Apps but this functionality is certainly welcome. I’m also glad to see many developers working together on it. $9.99

“A Tasty Pixel in partnership with Audanika today launched Audiobus, a revolutionary new app for iPad and iPhone set to reinvent iOS music making with its ability to connect music apps together, just as cables connect audio equipment. Support for the app is already built into such leading iOS music apps as Rebirth, JamUp, NLog, Sunrizer and more, with over 750 more developers registered to implement Audiobus in their own music apps.” – audiob.us

Anything that has a Forcefield Mode has to be a little cool no? Robert Tubb’s Masters degree project The Wablet has such a mode. Another good iPad app for glitch and drones.

“Scanned Synthesis is a way of generating complex tones by scanning an interactive model of a physical vibrating system. Scanned synthesis provides a good solution to some of the main issues in digital musical instrument design, and is particularly well suited to multi-touch screens.In this implementation, animated, vibrating mass-spring networks with a wide variety of configurations can be displayed. These can be manipulated by touching, dragging and altering the orientation of the tablet. Arbitrary scanning paths can be drawn onto the structure using the fingers.” – Robert Tubb

Korg has released iPolysix an iPad version of it’s classic Polysix synthesizer. Unlike the original there is a step sequencer, drum machine, chordal mode, Soundcloud sharing and Kaoss type effects pads. About $15 USD.

“iPolysix is an analog polyphonic synthesizer that’s been carefully designed to take full advantage of the 7.9-inch display of the new iPad mini as well as the iPad. Bringing together a sequencer, drum machine, and even a mixer, it transforms your iPad or iPad mini into the ultimate analog synth studio. Pack an amazing set of early-’80s analog equipment into your iPad, and time-travel back to the dawn of polyphonic synthesizers!” – Korg

Here is another great addition to the iPad’s music making app library. Gestrument puts music on a grid with pulses increasing in speed as you swiped left and right. Add a second finger and the pulse, volume and other parameters increase the further away your two fingers are places. Now imaging multiple instruments under your finger each playing notes according to a set of user definable parameters. Watch this video to see all this in action.

“Improvise or compose within the scales and rhythms you choose. Use parameters like pulse density, scale morphing, rhythm randomness or pitch fluctuation to find new paths for your musical expression and creativity. Use the tutorials or define your own settings to fit the musical style you want to play and compose in. Play on up to eight instruments at once – all with different individual settings.” – gestrument.com

I’m addicted to Samplers. I once owned a Roland S-50 and then an Akai S-950. A Make Noise Phonogene is on my must have list. iOS has some great and fun Samplers such as sir Sampleton, SampleWiz, sampletoy, iSample, SingingFingers and I am Sampler. Now you can at Samplr to the list and it looks like the most full featured yet. The iPad’s touch screen really makes sense here with 7 ways to play with the sample. Watch the videos above for the details. $4.99 USD.

“Samplr lets you make music and play with sound in a new and intuitive way by touching the waveform on the screen directly with your fingers.” – samplr.net

Take a look at the last post I did (link). See that video? Now check out the video above. I took the same sounds and put them into the Borderlands granular synthesis app. From a retro melody using analog hardware futuristic noise. I think it starts to get good around the 2:15 mark.

“Granular synthesis is a basic sound synthesis method that operates on the microsound time scale. It is based on the same principle as sampling. However, the samples are not played back conventionally, but are instead split into small pieces of around 1 to 50ms. These small pieces are called grains. Multiple grains may be layered on top of each other, and may play at different speeds, phases, volume, and frequency.” – Wikipedia

Borderlands is a granular synthesizer app for the iPad. It’s been highly anticipated since it was announced. It has a beautiful and futuristic interfaces. Watch the tutorial above, grab this app and most importantly load your own samples into it. Available now (iTunes link).

“Explore, touch, and transform sound with this new interface for granular synthesis, a technique that involves the superposition of small fragments of sound, or grains, to create complex, evolving timbres and textures. Borderlands emphasizes gestural interaction over knobs and sliders. Create, drag, and throw pulsing collections of grains over a landscape of audio files, or use the built-in accelerometer to sculpt sound with gravity. Record, save, and share performances via SoundCloud. Borderlands comes ready to play with default sample content included, but you can load your own sounds too.” – borderlands-granular.com